A Deal with the Shadow
by Bitway
Summary: It's time to find out which one will be in control. {season 3 spoilers, oneshot}


Patience was a virtue he somehow managed to hold onto today. Granted it wavered at times, but in the end, it would be well worth the wait. Venomous needed his little girl to fall asleep. A normally difficult task for the rambunctious young rat had turned into an easy one. She'd been tired out from earlier, using all her abilities in a fight.

The Professor waits at her door, quietly watching Fink and making sure that she was asleep and not playing pretend. The sound of her even breathing was a good signal, the occasional dreaming mumbling to, but he kept still. A normally heartwarming sight had turned against him, a feeling of unease creeping from the pit of his stomach.

He releases the door from his grip, turning away from her room. A breath is let out as heavy steps make way to his personal lab. Anywhere else in the building was off limits; he needed privacy. Not even his partner could interrupt…this. Whatever this was going to be.

Venomous had asked K.O. about how he contacts his alter ego. It had been explained in a strange and childish way, but he understood the gist of it. All he needed to do was concentrate. Contact his alter ego. Now that he was aware of Shadowy's existence, he would have to show up.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

His voice is quiet, not even allowing an echo to ring in this silent room. The Professor takes a seat, crosses his legs, shuts his eyes. Breathes in. Breathes out. Focus.

What is only a few minutes seems to be like eternity. He's trying to reach out to him. He's real. He exists. They've just never officially met before. And it grows frustrating. Having something literally so close yet not being able to reach it. Fists clench in growing anger. Just when he's ready to give up- it happens.

Eyes open to find himself engulfed in darkness. He gets to his feet immediately, tries to figure out if the power had gone out or if he was successful. Venomous gets his answer the moment silence had been replaced with an echoing laughter, one that sounds far too familiar to his own. It causes a hand to go upon his throat to check it hadn't been coming from him.

"So," the laughter comes to an end, but still resounds around the room as the voice speaks, "you've come to stop me, have you?"

Venomous narrows his gaze, attempting to find the source. But in the dark, he finds nothing.

"Yes, I have. Show yourself, Shadowy Figure."

Another laughter, this one sounding more taunting and eager surrounds him.

"Well…if you insist."

A snap of fingers is heard and the darkness is blown away. A dim light shines upon the Professor as he shields his eyes to the sudden light. When all clears, he finds himself in a setting far too familiar.

His old lab in the donut shop. Now a mess, falling apart, looking as it had after that one explosion. The only difference was this lab hadn't been whisked away…yet.

It doesn't sit right with him. It brings back that uncomfortable feeling. He feels like he has to move, has to leave before danger strikes. Yet, his body doesn't move. He's forced to remain here.

_He's not in control._

He gulps, eyes now falling on the figure floating before him. It takes a moment to find his own voice and he hates the feeling of it.

"Tell me," he starts, voice raising with every word, "why did you keep your existence a secret from me?"

"Oh, I had my reasons," Shadowy answers, unbothered by the shouting. Seeing the anger in his eyes only makes him smile with pride. He disappears, throwing Venomous off by teleporting to another portion of the room. He chose to sit on a burnt desk, kicking his feet back and forth, hammering against the crumbling wood. "And I'm sure somewhere deep in that mind of yours- ours, really, you know why to."

"What do y- I don't-"

"Oh come now, don't play stupid." A flash of annoyance crosses Shadowy's face. In an instant, he's gone. Longer than last time, which makes Venomous frantically look around. He tells himself to keep calm, don't let this man get to him.

_But it's a little too late for that._

The Professor stumbles back when Shadowy appears right in front of him. Now he's staring down his own face- a darker version of it. Something about looking at a corrupted version of himself just didn't set right, made it difficult for him to keep his cool.

"But, we're not here to discuss something like that, are we? You came for another reason. One I'm sure you'd love to discuss with me."

That smirk lingers on his face, knowing eyes shooting into his own. It's a suffocating look. And just when Venomous thinks he has a chance to breath when the other floats back, the air is taken away from him.

"You want to make our dear kid happy. To make K.O. think his father has conquered his own other half and give him hope that he can do the same. Wouldn't that just make you the best father in his eyes! But…" A terrifying pause as he stares down at Venomous. Glaring and grinning wide. "You don't really care about that, do you?"

"What? O-Of course I do!" He mentally curses at himself for stumbling over such basic words.

"You shouldn't be lying to yourself, _Venomous_," his name is hissed out. Shadowy now begins to hover around the Professor, circling him as he continues. "Under the guise of acting as a good father, you come to try and slay me. I know that's far from the truth. You came to get what you don't have. What I have. It's what you yearn for and what you truly desire."

He stops right in front of Venomous, a devilish look shines in his eyes. And in another moment, his old lab is gone. A plain, gray room replaces it. Empty. Only they exist within it.

A familiar sound of technos being transferred over goes off. Upon instinct, he looks to his wrist for a sign. On his watch, the monetary sign doesn't appear, but a muscled, flexing arm emoji does instead.

"You want my power, isn't that right?"

His gaze is pulled away from the watch, trying to meet with Shadowy Figure. He's quiet. He gulps. It's what he wanted. Power. He could have it all back, couldn't he?

It's…what he really wanted, right?

"I…have to get rid of you."

Shadowy rolls his eyes to that response. "Well, tough luck because you can't. And you're fully aware of it too. You can fight me and I can easily lock you away. You didn't even know I could control your body against your will! If you couldn't stop me before, nothing you do will stop me now. You can't win, Venomous."

He's right.

"Shut up!"

He's already losing.

"What's the matter? Can't handle the truth? I know you've been wanting this for years and now you can finally have it. All while making that brat of yours happy to."

A pause is allowed only so confusion could settle upon the Professor's features. It's a delectable sight.

"You wanted to deal with this whole…two personalities business. So, why not just become one? You'll be getting rid of me, in a sense, and acquiring what you desire. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

"I don't-"

"Trust me? What's the matter, can't even trust _yourself_?"

For once in a long while, Venomous didn't know what to do. He usually had things planned ahead, could deal with problems with ease. But now…he was being mocked by…a part of himself. He couldn't think of a way out. Every option came with failure. A disgusting feeling that made it feel as if he were sinking under while Shadowy was growing stronger.

"You're not me…"

"Still in denial about that? I am you. A better you. Now, we can debate about ourselves as much as we want, or we can have a compromise. We haven't got all night."

A hand was extended to the frazzled professor. It was a limited time offer, one he really couldn't refuse. This would be the closest thing he got to having more power and getting out of this mess. Regret of trying to even contact him began to seep through. It was being pushed aside by the thought of having something more. That's what he needed to focus on. Even if his gut said otherwise, he'd go with this decision.

"Fine," he spits out, finally. "We both get what we want."

"Power."

"Control."

Hands come together, fingers tightening around each other in a firm grasp. Dark sparks of electricity begin to rattle around their hands. A dark grin forms from Shadowy's lips.

"Perfect. Glad you know what I want. And you know that I'll have both."

The sparks multiply, crackle and burst. It's a shock of energy that sends Venomous flying back, hitting the ground. An obnoxious laughter is heard as Shadowy floats above the other, peering down at his pathetic self.

"You see, you'll be listening to me now. You'll have your power, but only when I allow it. I can't let a worthless piece of me ruin what I've worked so hard for."

In the blink of an eye, his face is once again nearly pressed to the professor's. His body feels heavy, too heavy to even move a hand to swat his other self away.

"If you don't want to disappear, you'll play along nicely. You'll have what you want. Just never forget who is in control. Not that I'll let you."

"You basta-"

A finger is quickly placed over his lips, silencing him. It was easy with how tired and weak the other was after one single attack. No wonder he wished for power so much.

"A shame you won't remember our true compromise. It won't do me any good for seeds of doubt to be in your mind about me. I'll just let you think you've won right up until the end…isn't that what you love doing to your victims?"

An answer is unable to be given. Only silence as the Professor falls into a slumber.

A slumber that comes to a quick end when he wakes with a start. His head is aching and he feels more sluggish than usually. A hand reaches and rubs at his temples to soothe the pain.

When he's able to see his surroundings, he finds himself back at Boxmore. Back at his lab. His mind whirls back to having just spoken with Shadowy. It almost seems like a haze and that feeling in his gut is beginning to build up again. It's stopped when he sees sparks of energy around his clenching fist. He expects to loose control, but…he hasn't.

A proud smile forms from his lips. He got what he wanted. Dealt with his alter ego and gotten the power he wished.

All for a price that he would soon pay.


End file.
